The Song of Songs: This Veiled Book Holds Great Surprises (Song of Songs 2-8)

The wisdom books…

Each book has a distinctive character.

Proverbs consists of long poems dealing with moral conduct, which introduce collections of aphorisms reflecting on the experiences of life.

The Book of Job is a literary presentation of the problem of the suffering of the innocent and God-fearing Job.

Psalms, the book of prayer par excellence, derives from varied origins, especially liturgical celebrations; it contains personal cries of agony as well as of praise and thanksgiving. Some betray a wisdom influence, and the very first Psalm serves as an invitation to learn about the ways of the just and wicked in the rest of the psalter.

Ecclesiastes examines the hard questions of life, and has become famous for the expressive phrase “vanity of vanities.”

The Song of Songs is a collection of poems that give meaning to human and divine love.

Biblegateway.com, in part

By the time we get to The Song of Songs in the Bible, we have already read about Creation, God’s intention for marriage, how the Israelites came to be a nation, how their struggles are so similar to ours (unbelief, untrusting, etc.), the importance of relying on the sovereignty of God in all situations (Job), the importance of praising God and understanding His worthiness of such never changes (Psalms), moral and wise advice for our day-to-day walks (Proverbs), and a healthy dose of reality regarding our one life on earth (Ecclesiastes).

Then The Song of Songs comes along seemingly unrelated.

In light of the covenant…

Marriages are often represented in the Bible as real-world imagery for us to understand the relationship between Jesus and the Church. It is depicted as a marriage because a covenant is involved.

The covenant [God makes] is mutual, and it binds to obedience both ways.

(1.) That we may perform our part of the covenant, and answer the intentions of that (Deuteronomy 26:17)…. Now this obliges us, in fidelity to our word, as well as in duty to our Sovereign, to keep His statutes and His commandments. We really … violate the most sacred engagements, if, when we have taken the Lord to be our God, we do not make conscience of obeying His commands.

(2.) That God’s part of the covenant also may be made good, and the intentions of that answered (Deuteronomy 25:18, 26:19). The Lord has avouched, not only taken, but publicly owned thee to be … His peculiar people, as He has promised thee, that is, according to the true intent and meaning of the promise….

The greatest honour we are capable of in this world is to be taken into covenant with God, and to live in His service.

Matthew Henry’s Complete Bible Commentary, in part

A marriage covenant is held in high regard as it represents a picture of something greater. It is no small matter to marry nor to divorce… and neither are to be entered into lightly.

The Song of Songs contrasts with the long-held view that the Song is an allegory of the love relationship between God and Israel, or between Christ and the church, or between Christ and the soul.

NIV Study Bible

What is marriage?

Genesis 2:24 established marriage as the coming together of a man and woman by leaving their fathers and mothers to become their own family unit… keep in mind, this was before parents were ever a thing on this earth… Adam and Eve… Click To Tweet

This verse established marriage as the coming together of a man and woman by leaving their families to become their own family unit… keep in mind, this was before parents were ever a thing on this earth… Adam and Eve had not even become parents at this point. God’s standard for marriage was part of Creation.

A gift for marriages…

God gifted, ahem, intimacy, and directed it toward being a healthy part of marriage. Yes, sin enters in and can taint what was intended to be good. However, this was designed as a gift. And when the Bible talks about the sins of the nations or the churches, it most often represents a perversion of this gift (through use of it outside of the Biblical marriage design).

The Song of Songs is a collection of poems that explores a healthy romantic love in an ideal marriage, cleaving together as one flesh.

Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm, for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord.

The Song of Songs 8:6

Culturally, a seal meant something was precious to its owner and as personal as their name (NIV Study Bible, paraphrased).

A surprising gift for us to look forward to as single people, relish while in marriage, and remember fondly when a spouse passes. This is also a gift for us, and we ought to look forward with a similar anticipation for the gifts God has blessed us with through our ‘marriage’ with Jesus.

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